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Posted on Thu, Feb 7, 2013 : 5:30 a.m.

Ron English says EMU signed 'the best cornerback at Cass Tech' and Michigan signed the other

By Kyle Austin

College football coaches are known for spending National Signing Day heaping loads of praise on their newest signees.

Ron English

Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com

Eastern Michigan head coach Ron English, though, may have gone so far as to say he got the better of his former employer, Michigan.

In discussing his 2013 signing class, English described cornerback recruit Daquan Pace as “the best cornerback at Cass Tech.”

Cass Tech’s other starting cornerback last season: Jourdan Lewis, signed with Michigan on Monday.

English didn’t mention Lewis or Michigan by name, and expanded to say that Pace “wasn’t the biggest and he wasn’t the fastest,” but reiterated that “we thought he played the best.”

Talking specifically about the cornerback position, the two players’ season stats support English. Pace had 17 unassisted tackles and four interceptions as a senior, while Lewis had one pick and six unassisted tackles. As a junior, Lewis had seven interceptions.

But both players also play offense, and there Lewis had 751 receiving yards and and six touchdowns, while Pace had 548 receiving yards and eight scores. Lewis also had 742 return yards.

Lewis is ranked the ninth-best cornerback in the country by Scout, and a four-star recruit. Pace is a two-star recruit and the 144th-best cornerback on Scout’s list.

English was at Michigan from 2003-07, and became EMU’s coach in 2009.

Comments

beardown

Thu, Feb 7, 2013 : 6:54 p.m.

Michigan got more 4 star DB's from Cass Tech (2) this year than English has gotten total, at any position, in his entire time at EMU.
Really, why is this guy still the head coach? He can't recruit or coach and now thinks he is Michigan because he got a Cass Tech DB? I won't knock Pace, but maybe their is a reason why no one else was recruiting him? But I guess English just knows something that the other 122 FBS coaches and the media missed.

EyeHeartA2

Thu, Feb 7, 2013 : 1:57 p.m.

I wonder how their ACT scores compared?

Robert Granville

Thu, Feb 7, 2013 : 1:13 p.m.

Kyle there is always context to defensive back statistics that you seem to be unaware of. The mark of a shutdown corner is the respect of opposing offensive coordinators. If they would rather throw to the other corner's zone, you're doing something right. This was the case for Jourdan all season long. You just don't throw his way if you're hoping to complete a pass. Comparing the number of receptions they gave up would bare this out.

Kyle Austin

Thu, Feb 7, 2013 : 2:54 p.m.

I have little doubt that Pace was probably targeted more than Lewis, but that doesn't mean interception and tackle statistics shouldn't be mentioned.